I've read what everyone has said about the changing video resolutions and agree with it for the most part. However, I can understand why you would want to automate that process at the users request. Many games run in a higher resolution setting than Windows is set to. It would be very annoying for the user to get a message telling them to go and change the resolution themeselves everytime the game is run. You would be considered a joke in the industry for recomending a design like that. Good interface and application design means you take care of the tasks for the user, not tell them to go and do it themselves.

This is a case I think where a programmer needs to understand the purpose of the application. For an application that always requires the user to be in the 1024x768 mode then you should probably try to automate switching the resolution for them. Telling them to go change it themselves in Windows is kind of a cop out if the user runs the application many times a day. I know most of my users would be much happier with it switching for them automatically. They are working folk who just want to get their jobs done; not control freaks who are going to flip out when the resolution changes.

For comercial apps you probably would need to give them an option - Swith to 1024x768 or quit. When they click 1024x768 then the resolution changes and the app launches. I don't think telling them to go change it themselves is ever a good idea. Too much support overhead and simply bad application design. Of course when the app quits you should ask them if they wish to set it back or do it for them automatically. Remember the game designers here. If the app requires the resolution you just simply don't have a choice.

For custom corporate apps if it is important enough to the client they can always purchase a bigger monitor. Almost always cheaper than redesigning an entire application. I've done this many times developing systems for people with 14" monitors. Just explain how much longer it takes to lay the screens out and get everything to fit. It's easy to justify the cost for most applications. 20 extra hours of interface layout & design * $100/hr = $2000. That is at least 5 new monitors for what it costs to lay the screen out to fit on a small monitor.Plus the users get the benefit of a better monitor for other applications. Many times only one or two users will use the space consuming screens. I've got several scheduling applications that would be ridiculous to try and fit on a smaller form. Give them the bigger monitors and lay those screens out to be 1024x768, make the others conform to 800x600.

Unfortunately I've had poor luck using VFP's scrollable forms. They are ok if you don't add/remove objects on the fly, but for any sophisticated interfaces they just don't cut it. I've got a few of them in actual working situations but I avoid them now.

I'd be interested in the code for switching the resolutions if anyone can figure it out. There are some systems I think that would be handy to have code for.

One more word of advice: remember that you don't have to please anyone on this forum; you only have to please your clients. Ask your clients what they want and try to accomidate if possible.



Greg Moss
gmoss@midwest.net

>I am using VFP6.0
>I have an app developed in 1024x768. Some of the customers like to use 800x600. Is there a way that I can automatically check the resolution the user is curently running and then switch to 1024x768 when the app starts (if necessary) and then switch it back when the app closes?
>